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A huge THANK YOU to all the Carlington residents and CCA members who braved a marathon AGM last night, who contributed to a lively discussion, and who made their opinions heard on the Carlington Hill Bike Park proposal and the election of the 2016/17 Board of Directors.

In terms of results, the Bike Park proposal was approved by the membership with 70% of the total vote. The CCA is following up with the Councillors office and the Parks & Recreation Dept on next steps and will communicate further info as it is available. Any further opportunities for discussion on the proposal will be communicated as well.

As per tradition (and our By-Laws), the entire CCA Board of Directors resigned at the AGM, so the 2016/17 Board could be (re)elected. Many thanks to the following residents who have committed to serve over the coming year:

Cameron Ketchum, President

Charity Bartlett

Nelson Coyle

Linda Dodd

Robert Brinker

Robert Crout

Cathy Younger-Lewis

Anna Du Vent

David Hoey

Further executive positions will be assigned at a June planning meeting and shared widely, as will a high-level summary of CCA priorities for the coming year.

NOTE that opportunities to support or contribute to the CCA do not end with the Board of Directors. The CCA is keen to involve volunteers on a number of critical issues and needs, including volunteer recruitment/management, event planning, social media/comms, fundraising, and representation/working groups from specific areas of the community. We also welcome expressions of interest in special projects that the CCA can help support and promote.

Please contact Cameron at president@carlingtoncommunity.org with any questions!

The CCA Annual General Meeting will be held Wednesday May 25 at the Alexander Community Centre (960 Silver St). The meeting itself will run from 7-9pm, but doors will be open as of 6pm.

PLEASE NOTE: Voting on the Carlington Hill Bike Park proposal will be by secret ballot and members can vote anytime between 7pm and 8:30pm. You do not need to stay for the entire meeting to vote! More details below.

The AGM will include the 2015/16 report from the CCA Board, 2016/17 Board elections, a report from Councillor Riley Brockington, questions and discussion on the Carlington Hill Bike Park proposal, and a vote on a motion to approve the proposal (motion is presented in Item #6 below).

2. Membership Info

One must be a member of the CCA to vote, and a resident of Carlington to become a members of the CCA. Memberships are pay-what-you-like (only when obtained in-person at the moment) and are available on the website or in-person at the meeting. Memberships are valid for one-year from the date of registration.

Any member may stand for election to the CCA Board of Directors, or for President of the Board (this position is elected separately). There are nine positions on the Board, eight of which were filled this past year. While seven members are planning to stand for re-election, including current President Cameron Ketchum, all will be asked to resign at the meeting before standing again for 2016/17.

An updated proposal has been submitted to the CCA by the Ottawa Mountain Bike Association (OMBA) on Phase 1 of their original proposal. Note that the vote on May 25 will be on whether to approve only Phase 1 of the proposal, as detailed in the updated document.

Only members of the CCA are eligible to vote, on either the Board elections or the Bike Park proposal motion (below). Voting will be done by secret ballot and members must have their membership validated before obtaining a ballot (please bring ID with your address to the meeting). Two private voting boxes with screens will be available at the meeting.

Note that members may vote on the Bike Park proposal by secret ballot anytime between 7pm-8:30pm and do not have to stay for the duration of the meeting to vote. Voting will close at 8:30pm in order to have time to count the votes before adjourning. Unfortunately we are not able to accommodate advance or remote voting at this time.

* Note that the above was edited to remove reference to an advance polling option on May 23. Procedural norms do not allow us to offer advance polling before the meeting is called to order at 7pm. Our apologies for the confusion.

6. MOTION, to be voted on as written, through secret ballot, by the CCA membership on May 25.

That the Carlington Community Association (CCA) approve, in principal, Phase 1 of the Carlington Hill Bike Park proposal, with the following conditions:

that no further phases of the bike park be implemented without approval by Carlington residents, through the CCA;

that the CCA and Carlington residents, through a dedicated working group, are consulted on Phase 1 design and construction details and have opportunities to inform further planning;

that any bike park facilities be accessible by residents of all ages and be free of charge;

that Carlington residents be involved in construction and maintenance of the facilities;

that appropriate environmental and conservation experts are consulted;

that concerns expressed by Carlington residents are noted and considered carefully as planning and implementation of Phase 1 progress.

7. Bike Park Proposal Survey Results

After OMBA presented their proposal to the CCA and residents on March 23, the CCA created an online survey to broadly measure opinions in the community and throughout the City on this proposal, and solicit feedback. This survey was not scientific and was open to anyone to complete. Comments and feedback obtained through the survey prompted the CCA to make adjustments to how the original OMBA proposal would be approached. Below are the results of the most relevant questions from the survey.

Every year at the Annual General Meeting, CCA Board members are chosen through consideration and election by the membership. This year, most of the Board has pledged to stand for re-election, but the CCA welcomes expressions of interest from the community to join the Board for 2016/2017.

Members/residents interested in running for election to the Board are asked to submit their name to Ted Radstake at greening@carlingtoncommunity.org ahead of the Annual General Meeting, or can submit their nomination from the floor during this meeting.

Note that all those standing for election to the Board will be invited to address the membership (briefly, as time is limited).